Many industries have long implemented their core business processes in software systems. For example, process oriented industries such as chemical plants and power plants are known to keep their core processes in software systems for many years. Also, sometimes it is hard to stop the process control metrics and measurement methodologies within an enterprise. These plants are initially setup for years of operation but the control or software systems, which utilize hardware like personal computers connecting to the systems through General Purpose Interface Buses, Analogue-to-Digital convertors or other logical circuits have to be designed with a particular computer Operating System (OS) in mind.
However, software and hardware becomes outdated faster than the control or software systems of an enterprise. Moreover, old software may not be designed to handle new and more frequent security threats that information systems are constantly exposed to in today's highly networked environment. Additionally, support for older versions of OS's may be discontinued by an OS vendor. So, with these modern realities any modern enterprise that continues to run legacy control or software systems is treading on dangerously thin ice, which can be fatal to the enterprise depending upon the nature of the industry.
Consequently, enterprises may expend huge sums of capital and large amounts of human resources to continue to support outdated hardware and OS's because to do otherwise could put the entire enterprise in jeopardy. The alternative is to undergo a large internal infrastructure project to port the control or software systems to modern hardware and modern versions of an OS. Yet, with the alternative approach the enterprise can find itself in a perpetual cycle where as soon as one port ends another one has to begin because what was considered modern has since become outdated. It is apparent that many industries are faced with difficult choices and large expenditures to continue their existing operations and practices. These expenses are often passed onto the consumer such that eventually a smaller more nimble startup company can enter the market at a lower price point with a more modern internal infrastructure for its control and software systems; this puts extreme and sometimes insurmountable pressure on the enterprise from a competitive standpoint.
Thus, what are needed are techniques, which allow for improved support, integration, and security of legacy control or software systems to allow enterprises to be more competitive in today's environment.